A Norse polytheist walking with Sigyn

Monthly Archives: November 2015

With People leaving, Faces turning away, and it apparently being a time for People to change things, I have a new shrine configuration. It’s part of the Leaving Questionnaire to ask what I should do with items / shrines, so it didn’t take too much to just check in with Everyone else.

The big change right now is that I have one shrine for the Vanir (and two Vanic compatible Deities – Sunna and Mani). It was a combining and trimming process.

The new shrine is being shown first and below the cut are the available images I have of previous shrines and the components combined.

I purchased it on Feb 15th, and it arrived on the 23rd. With shipping more than one state and going through the extra time of having packages distributed to the dorms, that’s not an overly long time for delivery.

No damage from shipping. It arrived with an organza bag and a free sample (one of the soaps). I wasn’t 100% sure how the soap would be (being accustomed to store bought soap), but I enjoyed it. I didn’t run into any issues with ordering this item from this shop (it’s technically the first thing I bought from Beth).

In a certain part of my brain, I know I should have gotten a review for this item up sooner. The spring semester had just started up, and I was still in survival mode from the bad escalation in the winter. I was still being a bit hard on myself as to whether I even deserved to be m’Lady’s because another Yule had passed without officially accepting Her offer.

Yup, I bought this for Sigyn [it was marketed for Frigga]. It falls in the category of a day collar because I could wear it out in public without tipping anyone off, but I haven’t so far. I’ve found myself typically breaking it out to ‘look nice’ in private rituals / devotional activity, but there’s plenty of time to settle on when I’ll wear this for Her.

There wasn’t any damage from shipping. The elk thread is adjustable, which I don’t mind. I’ve been having a little user error in twisting the thread over time (probably due to having more experience with non-adjustable necklaces), but that’s a very minor issue that I’ll just figure out or ignore at some point.

There’s something about the tactile and visual aspects that I’ve found I really like. It’s simple, not heavy, and it handles satisfactorily. Y’know when you’re worried or nervous about something, and you repetitively rub or finger an object? This is good for that. (The Raido pendant was bought to be near me, while this was bought to be worn.)

I haven’t been extremely close to Thor, but it has seemed like it’s a bit easier to contact Him and tell when He’s around when I’m wearing this. When I was looking at the choices on Etsy, I kept thinking that a more detailed Mjolnir would surely be better, but there’s something about the simplicity of this that feels more like Thor. It feels a bit more like I’ve joined the common ranks of those protected by Thor, in a way.

I’m still in the burning period, to some degree. The Face of Mani that I primarily interacted with has turned away. I experienced a Little Face (I referred to Him as Princeling), and I was in a devotional power dynamic with Him (Caregiver / Little). Because His Void-of-course Face was connected to the Little Face, I’m no longer going to interact with Mani in that way either.

He’s been patient about this, thankfully. There were enough hints about a certain topic that I’m not surprised He’s here as a King, but that didn’t make me any more calm when I got the news. So many People have left, and I was just instantly worried that He was leaving as well.

In some of my not shared notes about Families, I refer to the Celestial Family (Mani, Sunna, and the various other Deities in the Norse pantheon associated with time passing), but that’s currently not accurate. It’s more like a complicated Court system, and there’s enough of a link to the Family of Fire to be included in Jotun affairs, while there’s enough of a link to the Vanir to be included in Vanic affairs.

I made a point of not getting involved in the Politics that must be lurking beneath this information because I honestly don’t have the spoons or time to try to get to know more. All I know is that Mani is a King of a Lunar Court and that this Face is Who is showing up now. (Well, He’s probably been showing up for a while, but I now know for sure.)

There is someone in the world who smiles because of you, smiles spontaneously and from the heart. You are the apple of their eye, you’re the gifted rose beneath their nose, and their world is better because you’re in it. You may not know who they are, but they think of you when the world grows dark and cold and you brighten and warm it for them. Never forget that.”

Seriously, whoever you are. If you’re reading this I’m grateful for you. Some of you have become good friends and I have glowy heart-feels for you. Some of you are good people I like, even though we’ve not spoken much beyond shared comments. Some of you I don’t know at all, and I’m pretty sure that one or two of you follow my blog because you don’t like me at all. I’m grateful for you, too right now.

It’s been a struggle, but I’m coming to a point where I like the person that I am, and all of you in some way have helped to shape me. Oh, there are a lot of other factors, orlog and hamingja, blood ancestry, all of the other people in the world whose lives have touched mine who are not reading this… but you’re part of that.

Coincidentally the name of the plamen [Fire Jotun] that I, at least, interact with as the Overseer of Cigarettes (and smoking them, obviously). Kaditi currently prefers she / her pronouns, and She’s technically been around for awhile (only now getting a name).

She’s been a mediator with my dead (particularly bio dead) on this because it’s been a definite issue with them. My dead have opted to lift their taboo on smoking rather than coming down on a side of encouraging / discouraging it. She comes down on the side of encouraging smoking, but She can’t require it either.

My dead had this taboo in place because smoking cigarettes was a vice for several of them and was a contributing factor in my one ancestor dying from lung cancer (I mean, he also worked his entire life in a coal mine, so the cigs weren’t the only reason for lung cancer). I have no interest in lung cancer or any other health problem that’s been tied to smoking, so I haven’t really ever tried to change their minds on this issue.

Why the lifting of said taboo? Kaditi reminded them of the benefits they experienced while alive and the benefits that others can experience (even if they didn’t directly experience them). I’m not saying that these benefits outweigh the risks and dangers, and I am not encouraging people to go and smoke for these reasons. However, looking at these perceived benefits can help with brainstorming alternative routes.

Possible benefits:

1) Calming in a sensory / tactile way, in addition to the focus on breathing,

2) Calming due to nicotine, if a need for that’s built up,

3) It’s a treat yo’self expense that has sometimes been cheaper than other ‘healthier’ methods, depending on the time period / income, and

4) It’s a way to socialize with others, particularly co-workers in some professions [definitely include theatre in this section].

Having something that my hands can fiddle with and that I can may be use to remind myself to breathe may handle the first bit. There are other ways to treat yo’self, and there are other ways to ground yourself in your body through the senses. I’ve already made the decision to accept whatever consequences of secondhand smoke I may encounter to talk with friends and socialize.

I’m used to walking pass strangers smoking on the streets and joining friends, co-workers, and fellow theatre people in talking over breaks. Once you step foot on a college campus (in some places), you’re going to run into someone who smokes. As long as I’m not in the direct line of exhaled smoke, I made the decision to deal with possible secondhand smoke consequences way back in Freshman year. It took a relatively short amount of time to go noseblind to the smell of cigarette smoke on others, and for now, that’s the extent to this.

My dead are okay with this stance. They’ve sort of been trying to parent from beyond the grave in some areas, and this is one of them. ‘Even though we totally did the thing, you shouldn’t do the thing’. They’ve stepped back to leave the matter up to me, and the ones who did smoke are certainly not going to judge me if I happen to do so. The fact that they don’t directly interact with everyone and that it’s harder for them to help other descendants leads some of them to go a bit overboard with me at times.

In terms of how Others feel about this, They primarily boil down to liking the not-smoking stance but not being judgmental about actually smoking. Peaches (a Spirit Who I haven’t talked about before) takes this stance on smoking cigarettes, but She’s like NO to basically everything else – chew, cigars, marijuana, and smoking other stuff.

Mani would prefer that I not smoke, but He can see how cigarettes are a coping mechanism and won’t judge for that. Sigyn would very much prefer that I not smoke, but She wants to see how I handle the taboo being lifted + stress before transferring the taboo to Her guidelines.

For the most part, many Others in the Norse pantheon pretty much fall in this category. Most of the Infernal Powers are neutral on the matter and won’t encourage one way or the other, except for Belial [the Devil]. He’s not going to force / require this, but y’know, He can’t really claim neutrality. Everyone else pretty much just seems neutral / please don’t but We can’t force you not to right now.

And we bring this back around to Kaditi. While She does view there being benefits to smoking and takes an encouraging stance from this, She doesn’t force or require smoking. There’s also protocol around smoking to show respect to the Tobacco Spirit Guardian (*) and other spirits from the Family of Fire.

I must make the decision to smoke a cigarette on my own. No Spirit, Deity, Power, human, or otherwise can force me to do so.

There are certain brands that I’m more compatible with and less compatible with.

I am limited to cigarettes in terms of tobacco usage.

No chew, snuff, dip, other smokeless tobacco products, cigars, no smoking other substances, and such.

To stick with the compatible brands, I am highly encouraged to stick to buying my own packs, however I am not restricted from bumming a cig from someone.

I’m not restricted from sharing if someone asks for a cig, however I will not interfere with quitting attempts.

–

(*) Totems and spirit animals are specific to certain Native American cultures, as far as I’m aware. A fair amount of people still use the terms even if they avoid the rituals, meanings, and other areas that are clearly only for those involved in the specific Native American cultures, but I’m pretty sure the terms themselves are only to be used by the applicable closed cultures.

A lot of people, spirit workers or otherwise, talk about how other cultures also interacted with the spirits of animals, plants, etc., so the idea of a spirit being a guardian or representative of a species isn’t limited to a particular culture. Rather than using totems and spirit animals for these situations, I mentally use “Guardian Spirit” and “spirit ally”. The Guardian Spirit is an Overseer of a particular species, and if you develop a relationship with a Spirit, They can be a spirit ally.

Iskra indicated as a name (spark, ee-scruh), and she / her pronouns indicated.

One of many spirits associated with the creative spark that influences works of art, though Iskra has a particular focus on music (inspiring the production of, inspiring through listening, cleansing through listening to music, etc.). She’s particularly fond of Slovenian groups, though genre doesn’t seem to matter.

—

[I realized I didn’t share information for two plamen that had stopped by, so I’m going to share it a bit late.]

Dionysus – No matter how hard it may seem, I can’t give up on trying to make a career out of theatre.

Wadjet

Sekhmet

Raphael

Lucifer – When I first encountered Him, I loved the idea of learning how to play the violin for Him, but He was hesitant to confirm it. The only thing He conveyed for the portion of the Questionnaire about any debts or obligations was that I should go ahead and do so.

Voldemort

Nagini

Unknown Spn Entity – I was able to find out that my suspicion was correct and this was Dean.

Baldur

Hoder

Nanna

Sif

Idunna

Kolga

I am closed off to the Family of Mountains, Family of Snow and Ice, and the Family of Fire (other than two plamen Who have already visited).

Rather than having People leave outright, I’ve simply had Some turn Faces away: Narvi (Older Face) and Loki (Mardi Gras and Harley Quinn World-Breaker Faces).

Some pages have been updated, consolidated (in the case of the Tribes), and just outright deleted to reflect these changes. However, with changes being conveyed daily and trying to update more than one online space, I can’t guarantee that all updates will filter to every page / blog for a little while.

Since I’ve gotten some accurate readings from Answersfromvanaheim in the past, I volunteered for a flower oracle reading. And apparently Freya decided to pick the card.

Copy+pasted response from Gef:

Carnation.

I love this card, it’s so dynamic and fiery. Appropriately, this is a card of rebirth. You may be going through some changes right now, or this may be something that will happen in the near future. This card strikes me as very optimistic. I think it’s either a good sign or at least a sign that things are going to heat up in your neck of the woods.

I mean, it’s not wrong. I am indeed going through some changes right now – the burning period as I’ve been referring to it. Energy modifications are being undone, so that I’m incompatible with other pantheons again, and People are leaving.

Several days of fever and physically feeling like shit have also happened, in part to remind me that I have to take care of my body. (If I’m ever given an ALD assignment again, I need to remember to sleep every night and take vitamin C.)

While it may not feel all that great right now, all these changes are ultimately going to be for the better. *fingers crossed*